Vitamin D & Health

Why You Need It and Where to Find It

Vitamin D is a very important vitamin found in salmon, tuna, sardines, eggs, and it is also added into some foods and drinks. But we get most of our vitamin D by exposing our hands, face, arms and legs to sunlight, in as little as 10 minutes per day. Two forms of vitamin D are important in humans: vitamin D2 and vitamin D3. Vitamin D2 is synthesized by plants, and vitamin D3 is synthesized by humans in the skin when it is exposed to UVB rays from sunlight.

As mentioned above, foods may be fortified with vitamin D2 or D3, but you can also use vitamin D supplements. Taking vitamin D for long periods of time in doses higher than 4,000 units per day can be unsafe, so I recommend taking this dose under the supervision of a health care professional. You can get a blood test to check your levels.

For preventing all cancer types, calcium 1,400-1,500mg/day plus vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) 1,100 IU/day in postmenopausal women has been used. But this should be done under the supervision of a health professional. The Mayo Clinic recommends 1,000 IU of oral vitamin D daily for cancer prevention.

For fracture prevention, one of the following can be done: 400-1,100 IU of vitamin D taken by mouth daily; 100,000 IU of vitamin D2 taken by mouth every four months for 36 months; or 10 micrograms of vitamin D3 taken by mouth daily for 24 months.

Food Sources of Vitamin D

• Monterey mushrooms, 3 ounces = 400 IU

• Salmon, 3 ½ ounces, cooked = 360 IU

• Tuna, light, canned, drained, 3 ounces = 200 IU

• Milk, fortified, all types, 8 ounces = 100 IU

• Orange juice, fortified, 8 ounces = 100 IU

• Yogurt, fortified, 6 to 8 ounces = 80-100 IU

• Eggs, 1 Eggland’s Best = 80 IU; Whole Egg = 25IU

• Cereal, ready-to-eat, fortified, ¾ to 1 cup = 40-60 IU

• Cod liver oil, 1 tsp = 450 IU

• Mackerel, cooked, 3 1/2 oz = 345 IU

• Sardines, canned in oil, drained, 3 1/2 oz = 270 IU

• Pork lard, 1 tbsp = 140 IU

• Beef liver, cooked, 3.5 oz = 30 IU

Good nutrition and supplements with a healthy lifestyle is the best that you can do!! ;)

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Marcela Tribin is a dentist and an IFBB Bikini Pro athlete. She loves to write on topics about the latest advances in health, beauty, nutrition and supplements. Her goal is to provide simple but useful information for healthy living!